Enough people have sent me messages about this I thought I would post a brief explanation of what I did. this is a super cheap and easy way to lift a tracker/kick if you or someone you know can weld.
I used pipe that was 2-7/8's" in diameter and the thickness was 1/4 [just take a spring out of the rear and take it with you to the metal guys...the right pipe should be a perfect fit inside the stock spring.]
WHAT YOU NEED.
About 3' of 2-7/8" pipe with wall thickness of 1/4" [depending on how tall you make your spacers]
2 triangular plate the size of your strut 3/8" thick or more
12-14" [depending on what size you make your spacer] of tube or square stock small enough to fit around the strut mount holes [youll see what I mean from the pictures later in.
2" square sock 1/4" thick about 4 -5 "
Just pull out one of your springs and buy the size that fits perfect inside the spring.
Go down to the local steel place, have them cut you 2 x [2" for Back] pieces of pipe, 2 x [1.5" for front, trust me it will equal 2 when you put them in because of the control arm angle] and 4, 2 inch pieces to hold the 2" and 1.5" pieces together after you split them in half.
Split the 2" and 1.5" [or larger depending on how tall you make your spacers] pieces in half from the top so you have half moon shapes and pound them on to the extra 2 inch pieces leaving 1" [to seat inside the spring] and 1" [to hold on the spacer pieces] your half moon spacers need to be pretty even cuts but the pipe that you weld them on doesnt matter. and you want it to be as long or longer than the half moon spacers. when you weld them together it will look like this:
then weld the edges and the inside, don't weld the outside [spring wont seat as well] I put little extra tabs on em too to make sure the springs do not come over my lips. Also you want to let these guys cool real slow so your welds do not crack.
then cut 2 more 2" pieces and make a triangle modeled with the strut to get your holes right. weld the 2" strut pieces to the very center of the triangle and just set them on top of the original strut and put it back in with longer bolts. you'll need to cut smaller tubing or something for each bolt or it sucks the edges down. [you can skip this step if your doing 2" spacers or less and simply flip the strut mounts. Press out the studs from the strut mounts, pop them back threw the other side and flip it all over. Re-bolt..]
it will look something like this:
You should not have to even flip the strut just set it on the top of the thing after you bolt your strut to your mount then use the longer bolts to tie it all together. you need to make spacers for each bolt or it will bend your edges down. something like this:
i used square stock off an old wrought iron railing. Also, if you do not want to make em, low range sells the strut spacers for $42 a pair. http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/suzu...uspension-lift-kits/suzuki-sidekick-tracker-x90-vitara-2-inch-coil-spacers.html. Bit more expensive than $3 in pipe, but they work
when your done use camber bolts or slot your struts. pretty simple stuff. sorry I am not the best at explaining things. hopefully the pis are enough for ya. If your lift is over 2" I do not think camber bolts are enough.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
It was a perfect[snug] fit both inside the spring and around the stoppers on the spring mounts. i had to clean the welds real good it was such a tight fit but not grind anything off. and the 2" spacer portions that i hammered wider on the original pipe to make the lip, fit in the spring mounts perfect too.
for the rear shocks, LooseNut sent me a picture of a simple way to just extend the stock rear shocks, no crown vic shocks needed [better this way, your ride will remain a bit softer]
http://www.suzuki-forums.com/suzuki...s.com/suzuki-sidekick-escudo-vitara-geo-tracker/31186-1994-sidekick-lift-3.html
I used pipe that was 2-7/8's" in diameter and the thickness was 1/4 [just take a spring out of the rear and take it with you to the metal guys...the right pipe should be a perfect fit inside the stock spring.]
WHAT YOU NEED.
About 3' of 2-7/8" pipe with wall thickness of 1/4" [depending on how tall you make your spacers]
2 triangular plate the size of your strut 3/8" thick or more
12-14" [depending on what size you make your spacer] of tube or square stock small enough to fit around the strut mount holes [youll see what I mean from the pictures later in.
2" square sock 1/4" thick about 4 -5 "
Just pull out one of your springs and buy the size that fits perfect inside the spring.
Go down to the local steel place, have them cut you 2 x [2" for Back] pieces of pipe, 2 x [1.5" for front, trust me it will equal 2 when you put them in because of the control arm angle] and 4, 2 inch pieces to hold the 2" and 1.5" pieces together after you split them in half.
Split the 2" and 1.5" [or larger depending on how tall you make your spacers] pieces in half from the top so you have half moon shapes and pound them on to the extra 2 inch pieces leaving 1" [to seat inside the spring] and 1" [to hold on the spacer pieces] your half moon spacers need to be pretty even cuts but the pipe that you weld them on doesnt matter. and you want it to be as long or longer than the half moon spacers. when you weld them together it will look like this:
then weld the edges and the inside, don't weld the outside [spring wont seat as well] I put little extra tabs on em too to make sure the springs do not come over my lips. Also you want to let these guys cool real slow so your welds do not crack.
then cut 2 more 2" pieces and make a triangle modeled with the strut to get your holes right. weld the 2" strut pieces to the very center of the triangle and just set them on top of the original strut and put it back in with longer bolts. you'll need to cut smaller tubing or something for each bolt or it sucks the edges down. [you can skip this step if your doing 2" spacers or less and simply flip the strut mounts. Press out the studs from the strut mounts, pop them back threw the other side and flip it all over. Re-bolt..]
it will look something like this:
You should not have to even flip the strut just set it on the top of the thing after you bolt your strut to your mount then use the longer bolts to tie it all together. you need to make spacers for each bolt or it will bend your edges down. something like this:
i used square stock off an old wrought iron railing. Also, if you do not want to make em, low range sells the strut spacers for $42 a pair. http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/suzu...uspension-lift-kits/suzuki-sidekick-tracker-x90-vitara-2-inch-coil-spacers.html. Bit more expensive than $3 in pipe, but they work
when your done use camber bolts or slot your struts. pretty simple stuff. sorry I am not the best at explaining things. hopefully the pis are enough for ya. If your lift is over 2" I do not think camber bolts are enough.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
It was a perfect[snug] fit both inside the spring and around the stoppers on the spring mounts. i had to clean the welds real good it was such a tight fit but not grind anything off. and the 2" spacer portions that i hammered wider on the original pipe to make the lip, fit in the spring mounts perfect too.
for the rear shocks, LooseNut sent me a picture of a simple way to just extend the stock rear shocks, no crown vic shocks needed [better this way, your ride will remain a bit softer]
http://www.suzuki-forums.com/suzuki...s.com/suzuki-sidekick-escudo-vitara-geo-tracker/31186-1994-sidekick-lift-3.html
